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Ismé Bennie - Media and mentoring mogul

One of the most influential women in Canadian broadcasting, Ismé Bennie mentored many successful Canadian executives in a career that has spanned three decades. The former Wits library science student left Canadian TV in 2010 to consult independently and write non-fiction.

When Ismé Bennie graduated and began working as a librarian in the 1960s, she probably didn’t anticipate that 40 years later she would be recognised for her lifetime contribution to Canadian television, and for the trailblazing role she played for women in broadcasting. A resident at Sunnyside (then Lady Isabel Dalrymple House) in the late 1950s, Bennie (BA 1960) studied library science at Wits. She credits her success in part to the library skills - research, organisation and planning - that she acquired at Wits.

A veteran of the broadcasting industry

Bennie left South Africa and began working in broadcasting in America. She continued in this field after relocating to Canada. In 1983, she founded Ismé Bennie International, a media distribution company. She successfully established the firm in the marketplace and it became an important contributor in the promotion and distribution of Canadian television internationally. After it merged with production company Paragon, Bennie returned to broadcasting.

She joined CHUM, a Toronto-based media company, as Director of Development, rising to Director of Programming and Acquisitions in 1995, and that year won the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) Jack Chisholm Award for Lifetime Contribution to the Motion Picture and Television Industry. She had already received the CFTPA Personal Achievement Award in 1990. In 2003, Women in Film and Television – Toronto (WIFT–T) recognised her contribution to supporting and developing women in broadcasting, and she received the WIFT-T Outstanding Achievement Award.

Canadian Television Network (CTV) acquired CHUM in 2007 and Bennie was one of the executives retained in the acquisition. She served as Vice-President and General Manager of the CTV specialist channel Bravo! and by 2009, her expanded portfolio included management of several CTV speciality services.

Mentoring magic

Although Bennie modestly claims to have never been a formal or hands-on mentor, “Whenever I have recognised special ability, I have done my best to push it along,” she told WITSReview. “I take pleasure in the success of those I have helped, particularly that of a young receptionist who is now head of English Television at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation!”

This “young receptionist” is Kirstine Stewart, who in a June 2011 interview with the online Canadian marketing publication Strategy cited Bennie as a pioneer for women in the distribution business of television, and as an exemplary role model for women in the industry. 

Canadian producer Sean Karow, in recommending Bennie via LinkedIn, confirms the impact of her mentorship: “My first broadcast contract of my career was with Ismé. When we spoke on the phone … I recall at the end of our conversation she said, ‘a handshake is a handshake’, meaning that we had just made a deal. It was a small production deal to her, but to me, it was my most important – it was my first. Afterwards, she approved many of my documentaries for production and I had a career.” 

Bennie said that the Wits web-mentoring platform launched by Alumni Relations in November 2011 was “a great outreach initiative”. 

The Wits platform is an opportunity for alumni to share knowledge and expertise in a one-on-one online mentoring relationship. It enables Witsies to mentor or be mentored by registering at www.witsalumni.mentorcloud.com. 

“I have never been involved in online mentoring and I look forward to hearing about its progress,” commented Bennie.

Bennie’s Mentoring Tips

The Canadian Women in Communications organisation hosted an event in October 2011 where Bennie shared her thoughts on mentoring:

  • Be nice
  • When you are trying to get to your destination, do not be too focused because you may miss good things that are on the fringes
  • Do not quit on a matter of principle, only quit when you have somewhere to go
  • You will always have to work with people you do not respect
  • Build and nurture relationships
  • Trust, responsibility and integrity are the keys to success
  • Always do things to the best of your ability
  • Do not sell what you do not have

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